Halloween is nearly upon us, a time for ghosts, goblins, candy, pumpkins, and most especially, horror movies. The papa of them all is John Carpenter’s towering HALLOWEEN from 1978, when the world was introduced to the shape of Michael Myers; the hulking, masked, silent killer with a kitchen knife. The franchise has lurked along for nearly 45 years, enduring several different lines of continuity, reboots, and remakes. With the release of HALLOWEEN ENDS this month, (read Reel Speak’s review HERE), the talk has moved to the best and worst of the 13-film series, which brings us to Reel Speak’s Ranking of the HALLOWEEN Films.
Which are the ones to watch on Halloween Night, and which ones should be avoided? Let’s take a stab at it…
13. HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION (2002)
Scream Queen and horror icon Jamie Lee Curtis is disposed of in the first half-hour to make way for a bunch of nobodies that no one cared about. One of many bizarre decisions in a movie that treated Michael Myers more as a joke than a threat.
12. HALLOWEEN KILLS (2021)
This heap of nonsense was the second chapter in the new trilogy that ignored all sequels after the 1978 film. Nothing made sense in this, including an entire town (with trained medical professionals), switching to crazed riot-mode in a blink. The film also made a big deal about returning survivors from Michael’s previous attacks, only to slaughter them anyway. Bafflingly bad.
11. HALLOWEEN ENDS (2022)
The grand finale to the new trilogy that made us sit through six hours before the long-awaited final showdown between Laurie and Michael after 40 years of fear and hate…a showdown that resulted in a whimper and not a bang. In a head-scratching move, ENDS put Michael on the bench for most of the film, and then the final boss fight was just a messy, choppy, un-emotional dud.
10. HALLOWEEN II (2009)
Rob Zombie’s sequel to his 2007 remake went into the supernatural. Although this was not uncommon for the franchise, in this follow-up it just came off as weird and nonsensical. More like a series of abstract images than an actual story.
9. HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS (1995)
The sixth overall film in the franchise concludes a trilogy that centered on Jamie Lloyd, Laurie’s daughter, and also dove into the source behind Michael’s immortality. The script was convoluted, the kills were dull, and despite an alternate cut that was released later and earned a cult following…just never makes sense. And sadly, Donald Pleasance, who played Dr. Loomis since 1978, has his final screen appearance here.
8. HALLOWEEN 5: THE REVENGE OF MICHAEL MYERS (1989)
The first film in the series to get into mystical energies; establishing a psychic link between Michael and his niece Jamie, along with a cult that embraces the masked killer. These two elements were not embraced by fans and didn’t seem to fit into what we loved about Michael: brute strength driven by evil.
7. HALLOWEEN (2018)
The first of the new, modern trilogy that promised the final round between Laurie and Michael. Ignoring all sequels after the 1978 film, this had a promising start with Laurie preparing for war and protecting and her daughter and granddaughter. The buildup was immense, and then fell apart in the last five minutes when we realized the promised end-all bloodbath was just being punted down the road. Deceiving and un-satisfying.
6. HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982)
The original idea behind the HALLOWEEN movies was to do a series of films unconnected to each other, which brought us this creeper that does not involve Michael, whose popularity after two films was so immense that SEASON OF THE WITCH suffered from it. But there is still a lot to love here. It’s creepy, its imagery has lasted the test of time, and the concept of controlling or killing people through technology was a tad ahead of its time.
5. HALLOWEEN: 20 YEARS LATER (1998)
The first HALLOWEEN movie that (sigh), ignored all sequels, and traded off Laurie’s daughter in favor of a teenage son. Jamie Lee Curtis reprised her role as Laurie for the first time in 17 years, and the addition of her son (Josh Hartnett, in his first film), added some weight. There’s not too much to this one in terms of plot, but as a HALLOWEEN movie it has the right spirit…and it told a final-resolution story quicker and more efficient than the new trilogy did.
4. HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS (1988)
Danielle Harris has her HALLOWEEN debut as Laurie’s daughter and Michael’s niece, and proves herself as one of the most underrated child actors of our time. This is also a simple film, but the scares really work, and it handles the mob mentality of Haddonfield much better than KILLS did. It also has one of the most shocking endings in the entire series.
3. HALLOWEEN II (1981)
Taking place minutes after the events of the 1978 film, this one always felt like an extended epilogue more than an actual movie, but even with that in mind it works very well. It also introduced the story element of Laurie and Michael being related…a plot thread that the series would hold onto for decades.
2. HALLOWEEN (2007)
When doing a straight-up remake, filmmakers can either go shot-for-shot, or put their own spin on things. Rob Zombie goes for both here, giving Michael a fleshed-out backstory while staying true to the original film. Scout Taylor-Compton steps into the role of Laurie Strode nicely, Tyler Mane (Sabertooth from X-MEN), puts on the mask of Michael, and veteran actor Malcolm McDowell takes the role of Dr. Loomis. It’s a balance of remake and origin story, with brutal horror and surprising emotion.
1. HALLOWEEN (1978)
The grand-daddy of all slasher films that has yet to be topped by any sequel, remake, or reboot. John Carpenter crafts a masterpiece of tension and fear, while Jamie Lee Curtis re-invents the Scream Queen. From the moment the chilling piano-theme starts, to when the shape of Michael appears, hairs are raised and that feeling of an approaching dread hangs thick in the October air. It has been rightfully credited with launching the slasher genre that dominated most of 1980’s horror and the “final girl” trope that thrillers still latch onto. When the jack-o-lanterns are lit and the leaves fall, this is the film that always comes to mind first.
REEL SPEAK'S RANKING OF THE HALLOWEEN FILMS
- HALLOWEEN (1978)
- HALLOWEEN (2007)
- HALLOWEEN II
- HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHEAL MYERS
- HALLOWEEN: 20 YEARS LATER
- HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH
- HALLOWEEN (2018)
- HALLOWEEN 5: THE REVENGE OF MICHAEL MYERS
- HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS
- HALLOWEEN II (2009)
- HALLOWEEN ENDS
- HALLOWEEN KILLS
- HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION
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